Talk with Your Creditors

If you owe money and cannot make the payments, talk with your creditors. Explain your situation in a calm, straightforward manner. Show that you have done your homework, that you know how much money you have coming in and going out, and that you are carefully budgeting your current income. Reassure the creditors that you are willing to work out a payment plan and be faithful to it.

Mike Klumpp says, "I had to go to some of my creditors and ask for their assistance and tell them I was not going to be able to meet my commitments on time or make payments in full. I had to pay some penalties and interest fees along the way, but by and large, the creditors were understanding and helpful. They'd rather work with you and get paid than risk not getting paid at all."

Have a plan in mind when you call your creditors—a plan as to how much you can afford and how often you can make those payments. Understand that you may have to pay certain penalty fees.

"Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn't first sit down and figure the cost so you'll know if you can complete it? . . . Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can't, won't he send an emissary and work out a truce?" (Luke 14:28, 31-32 Msg).